We sailed in company with Plain Sailing on our passage to Borneo. We had surprisingly good winds for most of the way across but rather too much wind for 6 or 8 hours. We were down to a triple reefed main and hardly any jib and still doing 7 knots when a particularly vicious squall hit us with the wind hitting 45 knots for a short time. Plain Sailing experienced similar winds 25 miles behind us and called up to say they had a serious problem…one engine (they are a catamaran) was not working and they were having to hand steer as their self-steering was jammed hard over. The result was that we hung about for a couple of hours until they sorted themselves out in case we needed to return to them.

Fortunately they managed a fix so we were able to continue and arrived in Sarawak at Santubong near Kuching after 4 days where we anchored in the river next to an impressive 850 m hill rising precipitously above the muddy shore. The small village was very attractive, noticeably cleaner and better kept than many of the peninsular Malaysian villages we have experienced.

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The locals greeted us with a friendly hello to which we replied “selamat pagi” which is still about the sum of our pathetic Malaysian Behasa.

We took the dinghy ashore avoiding a rather too friendly crocodile and then went by bus with the other rally people to see the local Orang-utan conservation centre. As in Kumai 2 years ago the centre is based in a piece of virgin forest where orang-utan are reintroduced to the wild. There are no fences so the animals come and go as they please, attracted in twice a day by food being provided on tables set out in the jungle.

These are very special animals and we can only hope that their value for tourism will aid the protection of them and the environment they live in. Since arriving here the air has become hazier and hazier and apparently fires in Sumatra, the only other place where orang-utans are found, are producing smoke pollution so bad that levels in Singapore are twice the limit set by the WHO and may be responsible for deaths among vulnerable groups.

We liked Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, very much and spent a day shopping and sight-seeing. Whilst checking in with Customs, Immigration and Harbour Authorities another vicious squall hit and the wind went from nothing to 50+ knots in seconds, our skin was painfully grit blasted. We managed to find shelter in a warehouse but were concerned the roof might come off, corrugated iron was flying around. Fortunately the wind soon died down and we were then worried that if the same wind had hit the anchorage the boats could be dragging out to sea. As luck would have it we had reset our anchor the day before and on our return the boat was still in the same place although others had moved including one catamaran that ended up in the mangroves.

Our next stop was Miri a 2 day sail away. The trip was uneventful but we did at last catch a fish. This was the first time for a year and a half so we were very pleased with our Spanish mackerel which has fed us for 4 tasty meals. The nearest we had previously got to catching a fish was on the crossing here when a remora caught us and stuck itself on our hull for a few miles until it realised that we were not a shark with tasty morsels in our wake. I guess the first flush of the loo made it realise the mistake. We also saw a few small flying fish and had a solitary dolphin play around our bow. Miri is an oil town and there are some impressive rigs out at sea although none of the unlit ones that we had been warned about.

Miri, like Kuching, is outwardly wealthy and buzzing with life. There are far fewer Muslims here than in peninsular Malaysia so no calls to prayer either waking us at 05:00 a.m.! There seems to be much more civic pride in these medium sized towns with some attractive landscaping and fewer half built projects. The landscaping along the roadsides, dual carriageways and roundabouts is lovely and the gardeners in their giant sun hats are always busy.

It looks as though we may have to be here for a while as our engine has been getting noisier and we believe a “damper plate” between the engine and gearbox is on its way out so some expensive work needs to be done. There is a Volvo agent here so with luck we shall get it fixed but we may have to let the rally continue without us. In the meantime we are sorting out maintenance on ourselves too. We both visited the dentist this morning… minor works for me, possibly some more major stuff for Lorraine as the dentist feels she needs a more up to date bridge fitting! We shall also try to have a mole and skin check as although we don’t seek out the sun there is no escaping it. Maybe even a couple of foot massages after all the standing done on night watches … mmmm.